


Apprentice

by Queenzie



Series: The Dog Brought Us Together [5]
Category: Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016), Teen Titans (Animated Series), Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (2017)
Genre: Based on Teen Titans, Episode: s01e12 Apprentice Part 1, Episode: s01e13 Apprentice Part 2, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-07-01 17:00:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15778299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queenzie/pseuds/Queenzie
Summary: Damian disappears and Raven must find him, no matter what it takes.





	1. Part 1

“Who ate all the Froot Loops?!” Garfield exclaimed, hitting his fists against the counter after finding an empty box of his favorite cereal.

 

“Probably you.” Jaime replied, followed by a yawn. 

 

Koriand’r and Raven were eating some waffles made by Raven herself. 

 

“These are delicious!” Koriand’r praised her cooking, taking another bite of her waffle. Raven made a face of disgust when she realized that the alien girl had put mustard on it, but didn’t say anything about it. She didn’t want to ruin her mood.

 

“Hey, is that Titus whining?” Garfield asked. 

 

“Damian should be in there with him...” Raven replied, meeting everyone’s puzzled expressions. “I’ll go check.”

 

Raven got up from her seat and made her way to Damian’s room. When she knocked on the door and got no response, she opened the door. The room was empty, but the window was wide open. There was also a very foul odor. 

 

Raven inched closer to the window and found out where the smell was coming from. She stopped in her tracks and covered her mouth at the sight of a dead raven lying on the window sill. It was covered in its own dried up blood. 

 

“Hey Rae, did you find-” Garfield began but stopped once he noticed she was in shock. 

 

Koriand’r and Jaime soon joined the other two and they were all horrified as well. Immediately they scanned the entire tower in search of the boy, but found no luck. They met back in Damian’s room. 

 

“Damian is nowhere to be found.” Koriand’r informed, letting out a sigh. “Dick is going to kill me. How could he have left?!” 

 

“He didn’t leave willingly.” Raven replied, “He wouldn’t have left Titus behind.”

 

“The Robin suit and his communicator is still here as well.” Garfield added after checking outside the tower. “But who could kidnap 

? They’d have to be more skilled than Batman to get their hands on him.” 

 

Jaime looked at the dead animal. “I think this is some kind of a clue.”

 

Everyone was silent for a moment, all of them lost in their thoughts. 

 

“A dead raven…” Jaime began, “Maybe they threatened Raven’s life to make him do whatever they want.”

 

“They used her because she’s his weakest spot.” Koriand’r noted, running a hand through her hair. 

 

Raven’s eyes widened a little at the realization. She never imagined that Damian would care so much for her. 

 

Suddenly, the sound of the emergency alarm erupted throughout the tower. The team quickly made their way to the living room to see what was going on. 

 

“A robbery at Wayne’s Enterprises?” Garfield questioned, reading the screen. 

 

“Titans, go!” Koriand’r announced before running to go change into her suit. Everyone followed her lead. 

 

~ 

 

Once they got there, they split up. The robber was nowhere to be seen, or at least that’s what they thought. 

 

Raven was searching down a hallway when her communicator rapidly went off. 

 

“Guys, he’s here!” She heard Beast Boy announce. 

 

“I can’t take him!” She heard Blue Beetle say moments later.

 

“I’m coming-” Starfired replied, before being cut off by static. 

 

“What happened. Are you guys okay?” Raven asked, panicked. Only static from the comms could be heard. Light’s flickered around her.

 

Raven was the only one left. She was yet to find the robber. 

 

The Facilities power had been shut off and the generator had been turned on. Her only light source was the emergency lights. 

 

Raven swiftly turned around at the sound of footsteps. “Show yourself,” she demanded. 

 

A small figure emerged from the darkness. “Damian…?” Raven questioned. There was no doubt in her mind that this was him. 

 

He was wearing metal plated guards protecting his most vulnerable areas over his orange and black suit with an ‘S’ symbol where his normal ‘R’ would be. A utility belt was still in place but inside was not his usual batarangs. A katana was also on his back in it’s holster, like usual. His resemblance to Deathstroke was almost identical. 

 

Before she could think, he threw something at her. She used her powers to create a black energy shield to block the small device. “What is wrong with you?!” she exclaimed. 

 

Once the small device impacted her shield, an explosion nearly threw her to the ground. A cloud of dust formed around Raven and she began to cough. She was blind from every direction.

 

Small movements were heard from behind her. Without thinking, she created a shield behind her, blocking Damian’s lethal kick. He disappeared back into the cloud of dust as quickly as he appeared.

 

Waiting for his next attack, Raven started to come to her senses.  _I need to prepare for his next attack and restrain him_ , Raven thought. 

 

Before the dust completely settled, he came charging at her one more time. Raven could hardly react before he was already at her preparing to kick. Just in time she created a shield larger than usual to block his kick.  _I've got him_ , she thought, as her shield began to wrap around him. 

 

Instead of kicking, Damian brought his foot right back down to jump. With insane speed he was over the shield and came down with a crushing kick to Raven’s shoulder throwing her to the floor.  _He baited me_ , she noted. 

 

When Raven got back up, prepared to keep fighting, she realized Damian had already vanished. 

 

* * *

 

After being defeated, Raven went to search and collect her teammates. When she found everyone unconscious, she called Nightwing for backup. This was going to be an awkward conversation. 

 

Immediately after getting the call Nightwing rushed there. 

 

The two of them picked up their unconscious friends and carried them to his vehicle. 

 

“So, Damian did this?” Nightwing spoke up, buckling the seatbelts in the back. 

 

Raven only responded with a nod as they both got into the car. “We believe Deathstroke is manipulating him.”

 

“Manipulating Damian?” Nightwing almost let out a laugh. “That’s insane. But, I don’t know any other reason why he would do this.” 

 

“Yeah, we thought so too.” Raven replied and looked out the car window. “He left a clue…”

 

“What kind of clue?” Nightwing questioned, glancing at her once before returning his eyes to the road. 

 

“It was… a dead raven.” Raven answered. “Beast Boy thinks that I’m Damian’s weak spot, and that’s how Deathstroke got him.”

 

“By threatening your life?” Nightwing asked, taking all the information in. The rest of the car ride was quiet as both Raven and Nightwing were lost in their thoughts. 

 

Once they got to the tower they carried the team up and set them on the couch in the living room. Raven used her powers to heal everyone’s wounds one by one. When she was finished she rested on the couch. Healing always drained her energy. 

 

“I wonder why he knocked out everyone but you.” Nightwing spoke up while he brought her a cup of freshly made tea. 

 

“Thank you.” Raven said and took the cup he offered and began drinking the warm beverage to soothe her. When she finished it she lay back on the couch and let her eyes fall closed. 

 

“This is going to be a fun call to Batman.” Nightwing joked, taking a seat on the couch beside Starfire’s unconscious body. He tucked a strand of her loose red hair behind her ear. 

 

* * *

 

Raven was woken up from her short nap when she felt a nose poke at her side. “Oh, Titus. I’m sorry I forgot about you.” she brought a tired hand down and pet him.

 

Titus just tugged on her boot, urging her to follow him. Raven raised a brow at this. “You want me to follow you?”

 

Titus let out a bark in response. Raven slowly stood up from her spot and watched as her pet trotted over towards the door. 

 

Raven creeped towards the dog and tilted her head. “Do you know where Damian is?”

 

Titus let out another bark, wagging his tail. Raven’s eyes widened at this. 

 

“Hey, where are you going?!” Nightwing called from the living room. 

 

“I know where Damian is. Stay with the team.” was all Raven said before running out the door. She had her communicator and could send out a distress signal if she needed to, so it was fine. 

 

Raven shut the door behind her and followed as closely behind Titus as she could.

 

“We’ll find you, Damian.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

After tailing behind Titus for what seemed like a mile, Raven finally came to what looked like a secret hideout. It was located in the middle of the forest disguised as an enormous rock. 

 

“Shh…” Raven whispered to her pet and scratched behind his ear. “Good boy. Now stay here.”

 

Raven leaned against the door and used her powers to see through the walls, trying to find Damian. Once she spotted him, she quickly brought herself back and took a deep breath. She could already feel her powers draining her energy but she didn’t care. She was getting him back no matter what. 

 

Raven easily broke the lock off the door with her abilities and quietly entered the mysterious building. She was good at being stealthy, so making her way to him without being noticed would be easy. 

 

Quietly she made her way down a long flight of stairs, coming to what seemed to be a lair. She could easily hear Deathstroke’s uncomfortably smooth voice praising Damian. 

 

“Hmm… It seems we have company,” Deathstroke spoke up, sensing the girl’s presence. Raven just stopped in her tracks at the sight of Damian in front of the man, pondering her next move. Damian wore a surprised expression on his face while Deathstroke looked unimpressed. 

 

“Why are you here?!” Damian asked with concern evident in his voice.

 

“I’m here to save you from…  _ him _ ,” Raven replied, glaring at Deathstroke.

 

Deathstroke laughed. “Your precious Damian is already lost. There is no hope of saving him.” He then turned to Damian, “Dispose of her, will you?” Deathstroke asked Damian, turning his back to the both of them.

 

“No! You promised I wouldn’t have to hurt her anymore!” Damian argued back.

 

Deathstroke looked over his shoulder. “Are you refusing me?” he asked Damian, sounding more sinister than before. “Don’t make me do this myself, boy.”

 

Damian gave Raven a pleaful face. “Please run, he’ll kill you.”

 

“I’m not running,” Raven replied, “I’m going to defeat him, whether you’re in my way or not.”

 

Deathstroke gave another laugh. “Such determination. Though, meaningless in the end,” he said coldly.

 

Raven’s hands glowed with a dark energy. “You’ll be eating your words when you’re dead!” She yelled back at him swiping her arms. A heavy piece of machinery slammed into Deathstroke’s side. He braced himself before impact to be knocked onto the ground. Raven smiled at his defeat.

 

Raven’s smile quickly turned to fear. “I hope that’s not all that you’ve got,” she heard Deathstroke say from the ground. He got to his feet and continued his gradual pursuit towards her. One might have assumed there was a smile under his mask with how his one eye glared at her. 

 

Raven lifted her hands above her head and surrounded them with black energy. A large rock and another piece of machinery lifted into the air with with her hands. “I will not let you take him  from me!” She shouted, then threw both hands forward. The rock and machine flew at Deathstroke. Deathstroke ducked under the machine then destroyed the rock with a single punch as it flew at him. He then continued to close the gap as if nothing happened.

 

“Raven! Just get out of here!” Damian yelled at her, his voice shaking slightly. Raven didn’t hear him, she only continued to cast her spells, this time ripping the ceiling down over Deathstroke. Giant pieces of concrete fell on top of him filling the air with dust. She was sure he was caught underneath the debris.

 

Moments later a figure began to walk out from the cloud. Her back hit a wall walking back and he was nearly on her. She tried to cast one last spell but Deathstroke didn’t give her the chance, grabbing her by the wrist. Raven tried to shake him off but his grip was too strong.

 

“Nice try, little one,” he said as he pulled back his arm to punch her. Raven closed her eyes and braced herself. 

 

“No!” she heard a voice in front of her say. She opened her eyes and saw Damian protecting her, blood dripping down his temple. He tried to block the punch but couldn’t completely.

 

Deathstroke picked Damian up by the collar then slammed him into the wall next to Raven. Damian coughed for air. “To think you can stand up to me,” he said up close in Damian’s face, “The demon’s grandson you are  _ not _ .” Deathstroke pulled on his collar and threw him across the room, crashing into a heavy set of machinery. Before he could walk up to finish him, a black wave of black energy slammed Deathstroke into a different wall.

 

Sweat trailed across Raven’s forehead as she tried to keep Deathstroke trapped underneath the spell. Several seconds passed but she could already feel her power waver. In no less than fifteen seconds the black energy broke and Deathstroke rushed at her with death in his eye. She brought her hand up to cast another spell but it was already too late. Deathstroke picked her up with one hand and slammed her into the ground. Raven coughed for air. Deathstroke in an instant turned around to block Damian’s roundhouse kick aimed at his head with his other hand. Damian was still in the air and could not brace for Deathstroke's counter attack properly, taking a crushing kick to the ribs. He was knocked to the ground with his hands on his side trying to recompose himself. Deathstroke took another kick to finish Damian off but was cut short by a wall of black energy. Deathstroke turned around to glare at Raven, now on her feet with blood dripping from her mouth, casting her spell. Damian didn’t let the chance slipped and, through the pain, kicked the side of Deathstroke’s knee to collapse him, then did a spinning side kick to Deathstroke’s masked head. He was knocked to the ground with a crack on his mask. 

 

Damian quickly unsheathed his Katana from his back then took a jumped to take a downward stab at Deathstroke on the ground. Deathstroke didn’t give him a chance and kicked him away on his way down. Raven leaned against a wall still trying to recover from Deathstroke's attack. She was not as durable as Damian was. He was trained to brace this.

 

Deathstroke got back to his feet and pulled out his own katana. He saw Damian up and ready to fight with his own sword. They stared at each other in silence, both expecting the other to charge at them first, until Damian initiated the fight by throwing three ninja stars. Deathstroke blocked one with his katana but was instantly knocked away by the ninja stars exploding. Deathstroke stayed on his feet, but was flanked by Damian using the explosion’s smoke that hid him. Deathstroke expected it and was already making a slash towards where Damian would be before he even attacked. Damian was saved once again by a black wall of black energy and was able make a deep slash on Deathstroke’s arm.

 

Deathstroke didn’t get distracted this time and continued his onslaught of slashes towards Damian while Raven continued to protect Damian from Deathstroke’s fatal sword blows. After a minute, Deathstroke was bleeding from deep gashes all over his body. Eventually, Deathstroke attacked with such ferocity that Raven couldn’t keep up, leaving Damian defenseless from a downward sword slash through the collar bone.

 

“No!” Raven yelled, as Damian fell to his knees and dropped his sword. Deathstroke pulled the sword out of Damian then looked directly at Raven. Damian fell face forward, slowly losing consciousness.

 

“No...” she muttered, her eyes wide. Black energy quickly filled her eyes and the walls began to shake. A heavy draft of air swirled through the room which stopped Deathstroke in his tracks and was hesitant to come closer. When Raven noticed him, a huge wave of black energy slammed into him, throwing him fifteen feet across the room. He looked like a ragdoll until eventually his back slammed against the back wall. Before he fell to the ground another wave of black energy slammed him into the wall again and sent him flying through to another room.

 

“You’ll pay for this!” Raven snarled with a demonic voice echoing through her. She brought her hands up and began to tear the building apart, brick by brick.

 

* * *

 

When Damian came to, the first thing he saw was Raven’s face. He could feel her hands on the sides of his head and her eyes were closed. “Raven…?” 

 

Raven opened her eyes and met his gaze. “You’re awake.”

 

Damian slowly began to sit up and held his head, feeling a throbbing pain. “What… happened?”

 

“You were unconscious from losing so much blood,” Raven informed, “I just healed you.” 

 

“Thank you,” Damian said. He knew healing drained a lot of her energy. 

 

The two of them were quiet for a few moments before Raven spoke up. “Why?”

 

Damian looked down at the ground, unable to look her in the eyes. “He threatened to hurt you if I did not obey him.” 

 

“I can take care of myself, you know,” Raven replied. “You didn’t have to risk your life for me.” 

 

“I could say the same to you,” Damian responded. 

 

“Do you care about me that much?” Raven decided to ask. 

 

Damian took a moment to respond. “Is it not obvious?”

 

The two of them were silent for a few moments after that. Rain drops began to fall from the sky, followed by some thunder.

 

Titus came from the woods and eagerly found his two owners, wagging his tail as he licked Damian’s face. “Titus?” Damian questioned, happily petting him. 

 

“He brought me here,” Raven answered, smiling at the scene. 

 

Damian slowly smiled, scratching behind his ear. “Good boy,” he cooed. 

 

Damian stood up from his spot and offered her a hand. Raven took his hand and pulled herself up, not realizing how weak she was from healing. 

 

“Here,” Damian said before getting on his knees, offering her a ride on his back. 

 

“Are you sure?” Raven asked, “I can walk-”

 

“Just get on,” Damian cut her off. Raven obeyed and gently climbed onto his back, holding on tightly and wrapping her legs around his waist. 

 

“Let’s go home,” Damian said. “Come on, Titus.”

 

Titus happily trotted in front of them, leading them back safely to the tower as it stormed. 


	3. Chapter 3

Once they arrived got back at to the tower, the team all welcomed Damian back home. He explained what happened and they all understood, though some were still angry with him. 

 

“You must be hungry,” Dick said, handing Damian a plate of food. 

 

“Yeah,” Damian answered, “Thank you, Grayson.” 

 

“I know Slade- I mean, Deathstroke, practically starved you,” Dick said. 

 

Damian raised an eyebrow, “How did you know?” 

 

Dick and Koriand’r both glanced at each other. “Just a guess.” Dick answered. 

 

Damian shrugged it off and didn’t hesitate to bite into his dinner. When he finished, he decided to bid everyone goodnight and go check on Raven. 

 

Raven had went to her room to rest once they had got back. 

 

Damian made his way to her door and gave it a few knocks. “It’s me,” he informed. 

 

He waited for a “come in” before entering. He opened the door and gently closed it behind him. 

 

The room was dark, only illuminated by candles on her nightstand. Raven has changed into a tank top and shorts and was laying on her bed, reading a book. 

 

Damian slowly made his way over and Raven closed her book, making a spot for him to sit. 

 

“Are you feeling better?” was the first thing Damian asked. 

 

“Yes,” Raven assured him, “I’m fine. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

 

Damian looked down at the floor, a glum expression on his face. “I’m sorry.” 

 

“Damian,” Raven started, putting a hand on his shoulder, “You didn’t do anything wrong. You were just trying to protect me. And I’m… very thankful for that.” 

 

“But I couldn’t protect you,” Damian said, “You still got hurt.” 

 

That’s when he saw them. The bruises and cuts on her arm. He gently took her shoulders in his hands and turned her to get a look at her back, what her tank top didn’t cover. He could see a few there too. 

 

“Damian?” Raven asked, glancing back to look at him. She could sense a great amount of sadness and guilt within him. 

 

“I’m sorry,” he spoke, “I’ll never leave your side again.”

 

Raven froze a little when she felt a pair of warm lips press gently against her shoulder blade. They traveled to her arms. 

 

“I apologize, I can’t heal you,” Damian admitted when he was done, “This is the best I can do.” 

 

Raven met his gaze, seeing the tears in his eyes. She was still surprised by the sudden display of affection. 

 

“Damian…” she trailed off, raising a hand up to wipe away his tears. He reached his hand up and gently placed it over hers. 

 

Raven hesitantly leaned in and pressed her lips against his, slow and softly in a comforting way. Damian was caught off guard with this sudden action but quickly reacted. He carefully reached his hands up and ran his fingers through her hair, pulling her closer and desperately kissing back. 

 

When they pulled away, both of their faces were dusted a light shade of pink. 

 

“I’ll let you rest…” Damian quietly spoke up. “You need it.” 

 

“Okay,” Raven replied, watching him stand up from the bed. 

 

Damian gave her one last kiss on the forehead before leaving. 


End file.
